Moon Knight Episode 3 Review - IGN (2024)

Warning: The following review of Moon Knight's third episode contains full spoilers.

You can check out our review of last week's Moon Knight episode, "Summon the Suit," here.

With Marc Spector mostly in control of his own body this week, and the adventure whisking us from London to Cairo, Moon Knight's third episode was the most action-packed and illuminating entry so far. The learning curve for Marc and alternate personality Steven working together in one body -- while trying to save the world from Arthur Harrow's mad plot to cleanse the world -- is a steep one, and by the end, Khonshu winds up trapped in a tiny statue and Moon Knight is essentially gone from both of their lives. That's less than ideal because... well, they kind of need that cool Egyptian God armor to fight bad guys.

Layla also felt like more of an active participant this week with a good amount of agency, as she followed Marc to her home country of Egypt and their backstory as a married couple was addressed a bit more, including the fact that Marc had kept Steven a secret from her. We're still not quite sure how long they've been married, or how long Marc has been Moon Knight, but it seems like he's been Moon Knight the entire time with her, also keeping that a secret. Piecing things together from Episode 2 with Harrow's words about Marc's secret this week, it would appear Marc had a hand in the murder of Layla's archeologist father and then some time after this, he met Layla. Regardless, it makes sense when Layla tells him she feels like she's barely known him.

Check out the video review of Moon Knight Episode 2 here...

Anton Mogart - aka "Midnight Man"

We finally got to see Marc in mercenary form this week, though it's hard to tell from this endeavor if he's, you know, actually good at being a soldier for hire. Sure, he can run as fast as Moon Knight across rooftops, but undercover work doesn't seem to be his forte, as demonstrated by his awkwardness around wealthy artifact hoarder Anton Mogart, played by Gaspard Thomas Ulliel (who tragically died following the filming of this season). Layla was in fine form as a relic hunter, schmoozing with those in need of schmooze and selling her cover story while Marc came off blunt and clumsy for someone who's supposedly dealt with aliases before.

Of course, Marc is also dealing with the nagging reflection of Steven who, like Marc, is able to take over their body at pivotal moments of action, but this time for the reverse effect. This week, Steven was the one blipping Marc out of scenes of violence to play peacekeeper, making Marc's job even harder. Steven's a lovely, light character but at times you have to wonder if he realizes all that's at stake. He wants control but what good would it do most of the time, ultimately? It all lends itself, more and more, to Steven being a very fractured part of Marc's mind and not a whole person. Marc even mentions that he'd had Steven "under control" until recently (which we might assume involved Marc learning that Khonshu wanted Layla as his next avatar).

This back and forth does lead to a very funny moment in the middle of a huge fight when Steven takes over ("Mr. Knight" being his version of the suit) and then almost immediately calls for Steven to take the reins back after getting run through with a spear. Having Steven stuck inside Marc allowed the story to exhibit way more forward momentum than the first two chapters, utilizing Steven's knowledge of Egyptology like batsh*t background programming in Marc's more meatheaded mind.

This show's portrayal of Mogart isn't that far off from the original 1980 comic debut, of an antiquities collector who moonlights as a masked art thief. It's not known if Mogart will return in a masked Midnight Man form at some point, but he isn't killed off here, just wounded on his way out the door. The scene at his estate also gave Moon Knight its first MCU connection, albeit a quick one. It's one that may have even been added via ADR when there's a mention of Layla and Mogart's past dealings in Madripoor.

Trial of the Gods

As a cranky, rude god desperate to stop Ammit, but also fearful of being imprisoned by his fellow deities, "desperate old bird" Khonshu took some big risks this week. At times, Khonshu plays like a villain, even the type of baddie who could be the story's final adversary. He uses Marc's feelings for Layla as leverage, forcing him to be his avatar. Much like Ammit's use of Harrow, it's a very "ends justify the means" methodology. Khonshu is singularly focused on stopping Ammit from being resurrected and he does some wild sky tricks this week in order to try and make a citizen's arrest on Harrow.

The remaining Egyptian gods portal their avatars over to the great pyramid of Giza for a trial in which Oscar Isaac was able to unleash another new personality -- that of Khonshu himself, booming voice and all. Isaac has been absolutely wild on Moon Knight, between the action, different personas, and also acting opposite nothing/not much (reflections, Khonshu, etc). Even at Moon Knight's clumsiest moments, he's a blast to watch.

With the trial, which frustratingly goes Harrow's way -- because gods are notoriously obtuse, these gods in particular hate Khonshu, and Marc is deemed an unreliable "unwell" witness -- we learned more about the whole Ennead situation. They decided long ago to stop meddling in human affairs and Khonshu always considered that a regrettable abandonment; therefore, anything Khonshu does that draws attention to them gets them all high and haughty. Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Hathor (who's still actually fond of Khonshu) all make the wrong call here, though it's interesting that Khonshu was asking them to pre-crime arrest Harrow, for something he hadn't done yet, when that's exactly what Khonshu objects to in the first place.

We didn't get any hard answers as to what these beings exactly are -- in this larger MCU of Asgardians and Celestials and otherworldly beings -- but there was a line about them possibly losing control of this realm. Is this their only realm or do they oversee other areas in the universe?

The Sky is a Neighborhood

Khonshu's insane spinning of the sky at the end, which Steven helps with, donning his Mr. Knight garb, was a sublime visual treat. Obviously witnessed by the whole world, and getting Khonshu crumbled for his actions, we're unsure as to how this will affect the larger MCU. Of course, here in Phase Four, we've already been dealing with massive things that aren't bleeding over into other stories (not until Multiverse of Madness addresses the end of No Way Home). A massive Celestial breaking through the ocean floor isn't a thing anywhere else yet and this crazy time-travel sky blur probably won't make it out of Moon Knight. These contained happenings occur in comics all the time, but it's sort of new for the MCU given how tethered everything was for a decade.

Still, it made for a very exciting end for the episode and it sets up a rather hopeless situation for our heroes going forward without Khonshu to protect them. Marc -- well, Steven as we leave things -- and Layla must try to thwart Harrow and his cultists on their own. It bodes better for Layla than Steven, of course, since this episode saw her more than handle herself in dangerous spots. She's not a mercenary, but the opening scene, which was all Layla's, laid out her background a bit as a tomb raider-type, raised at her father's dig sites all over the world, cut from the cloth of a Lara Croft or an Indiana Jones. One of the best parts of this episode involved all the new facets of Layla we were introduced to. When she approached Steven in the desert, after Marc relinquished the body, and truly saw Steven for the first time as a separate part of Marc and not just for the sake of comedic befuddlement, it made for a sweet moment.

One thing to note here at the end of the review (and it could be nothing): Who killed those goons? Marc is after some of Harrow's men at the beginning and keeps getting interrupted by Steven's pacifism, but when he comes to for the last time, two of the henchmen are dead. Steven was last in control. He said he didn't do it. Marc didn't do it either, naturally. Was it Khonshu fully taking over or is there someone else in Marc's mind?